Libya: Playground for Global Powers' Rivalry - Head of UN Mission in the Country

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Published Jun 22, 2024

Briefing by Abdoulaye Bathily, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), on the situation in Libya.

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The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, today (16 Apr) told the Security Council that “unfortunately” his attempts to address key Libyan stakeholders’ concerns have been met “with stubborn resistance, unreasonable expectations, and indifference to the interests of the Libyan people.”

Bathily said, “since the end of 2022, the United Nations-led efforts to help resolve Libya’s political crisis through elections faced national as well as regional pushbacks, revealing an intentional defiance to engage in earnest and a tenacity to perpetually delay elections.”

He said, “preconditions put forward by Libyan leaders contradict their proclaimed intention to find a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned solution to the conflict,” adding that “so far, they have not demonstrated their good will.”

The Special Representative said Libya “has become the playground for fierce rivalry among regional and international actors motivated by geopolitical, political and economic interests as well as competition extending beyond Libya and related to its neighbourhood.”

He urged Libyan leaders to reach a political settlement “based on negotiations and compromise” and said, “we cannot allow the aspirations of 2.8 million of registered Libyan voters to be overshadowed by the narrow interests of a few.”

The political impasse in Libya continues between the UN-recognised Government of National Unity (GNU), based in Tripoli and led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah, and the eastern-based Government of National Stability (GNS), led by Prime Minister Osama Hamad and aligned with the House of Representatives (HoR) and the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) under the command of General Khalifa Haftar.

The stalemate between the rival governments has persisted since the indefinite postponement of the Libyan national elections that were planned for December 2021.